


The Painted Swan

by RowanAD



Series: Classics Rewritten [4]
Category: Original Work, Лебединое озеро - Чайковский | Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Kidnapping, Curses, Evil, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Lebedínoye Ózero | Swan Lake References, Painting, Princes & Princesses, Reimagined Swan Lake, prince in disguise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25663432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowanAD/pseuds/RowanAD
Summary: Swan Lake, basically. Retold, enjoy!
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Classics Rewritten [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692691
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Ronan Page was a simple painter, living self sufficiently in the woods of the kingdom of Farean. He was happy for many years, living alone in his cottage by the lake, painting the swans who came to roost there every morning. He painted them in many forms, but his favorite painting was of a little girl covered in soft white feathers, with honey colored curls and eyes like the perfect crystal clear blue of the lake. Her face was dotted with soft sun kissed freckles, and her expression seemed to look at him with the eyes of the most precious being ever made.

But in making this great creation, it led him to realise that he was lonely. He wished for the pleasure of a child in his life. He wanted to hear them laugh, to watch them grow, and to one day hold their children on his knee as an aged man having seen his child grow into a happy man or woman with a life all their own. It became his greatest desire.

Now, having lived in the woods all his life, he was very familiar with the fae who dwelled there. He traveled many nights into the deepest part of the wood and brought himself before the king of the fae with the offering of an old silver bracelet of his mother’s.

“If it pleases your majesty, I wish for one thing. I pray that you would bless me with a child. I have no desire to take a wife, as the pleasure of a woman’s company is not the desire of my heart, rather I would wish to raise a child in the shadow of the trees and teach him or her to be kind to the family of the forest.”

The king looked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Keep your offering.” He said. “You may one day need it. But for today, consider this favor paid in previous gifts. It took much effort and bravery to come here to the heart of the woodland and enter our domain. Go home now, and three days after your boots cross the threshold, you will find yourself a child. But be warned, the rearing of a child is not a fickle undertaking. Treat well this new life, and if you fail, we will take the youth for ourselves. Is this deal favorable to you?”

Mr. Page nodded.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“Depart now.” The king ordered. “And tell no one of how you found this place.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Mr. Page acquiesced, turning and departing, walking into the distance, looking over his shoulder only once, and seeing that the fae court was gone.

He returned home, and as promised, three days later, he woke to hearing little footsteps padding around his home. He hurried to the source of the noise and found the little girl from his painting running around his kitchen, flapping her arms and letting her feathers fall all over the floor.

He drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the dear child milling about his home, happily kneeling and taking her into his arms.

“Hello dear one.” He whispered to the girl, his  _ daughter _ . He was a father now, and he could not be happier. “I shall call you Odette.”


	2. Chapter 2

Odette grew into a beautiful young woman, losing her feathers as she aged. Shortly following her eighteenth birthday, a decree was passed through the land, that one day out of every week, there would be a night festival, and the prince would be free to mingle as he pleased, as long as he found a bride before the summer solstice.

Odette had no interest in princes and festivals, but her father encouraged her to attend anyway. Finally, after much prodding, she agreed. This was the seventh week of festivals, and she sat off to the side, using a thin piece of charcoal to draw in a small leather book she carried with her. The sketch was of her father, all soft eyes and curved cheeks, seemingly infused with the gentility of his spirit if only in the ash on the paper.

“Pardon me, but may I sit with you?” A young man’s voice asked.

Odette looked up and saw a gentleman peering down at her. He had mousy brown curls and a soft face, about her age, but a little taller. She offered him the seat beside her with a wave of her hand.

“What brings you here?” He asked her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

She shrugged.

“I haven’t been.” She replied.

“Why?”

“I don’t particularly care for all this revelry over the prince,” she explained. “I’m not terribly interested.”

“You’re not?” He sounded surprised and even intrigued.

“I’m quite happy with my father, to live out my days with him in our family home. I would not be able to live there should I be courted by the prince. The young royal would wish to spirit me away with him to the palace, and I’d never see my father again.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t. For a girl as beautiful as you, he might just give up his kingdom and settle.”

Odette shook her head.

“No, kind sir. No one in the world would give up all that for me.”

“Would anything make you consider him?” The young man asked.

“Perhaps if he let me go home for half the year. If I could remain with my father and care for him in winter, then yes, I might learn to love him. Though I could never marry a man who would expect me to be a quiet little wife and never live a true full life again.”

“No one would ever confine you to such a fate, fair maid, not so long as I breathe.” The young man swore devoutly.

She furrowed her brows and looked at him. His sincerity astounded her, and she almost wanted to ask him what he meant when he looked up at the clock in the square and saw it about to hit morning one, and he stood.

“I apologise, fair maid, but I must depart. I’ll see you again, Lady…” He paused. “I don’t know your name.”

“Odette.”

“I’ll see you again, Lady Odette.”

“I’m not-” Odette tried to correct him, but he was already fleeing from her sight. “A lady..”

As she watched his back retreat through the crowd, she realised that he’d never said his name.


	3. Chapter 3

She thought about him through most of the week, and when she went to the festival on the following Thursday, she waited for him, scanning for his face in the crowd. A soft tap on her shoulder turned her around, and she came face to face with his gentle smile.

“Hello again, Lady Odette,” he said kindly.

“Hello again, Sir..?”

“Frederick.” He replied.

“Hello again, Sir Fredrick.”

“Please, just Frederick is quite alright.” He assured.

“As is simply Odette.” She replied.

“Very well, Odette.” He acquiesced. “I am ever so pleased to see you again. Your captivating visage seems to have taken hold of my every waking hour.”

She blushed lightly, a soft pink strawberry glow under her freckles.

“I would be flattered if that were true, sir.”

“It is. And again, Frederick, Odette. I’m no less human than you.”

“Well in that case,” She paused to find the words, “I am appreciative of the compliment. Frederick.”

He smiled, extending a hand to her with a shallow bow.

“Would you do me the honor of a dance?” He asked.

She cocked her head, looking at him strangely, her eyes half lidded and narrowed with intrigue behind the cerulean orbs, and a small half smile gracing her lips. She took his hand.

“I suppose I might. Though how much of an honor it would be depends. Are you any good?” She asked, falling into step with him.

“I have two left feet.” He replied, chuckling.

“Then I’ll lead.”

She brought him into the step, starting slowly and working their way up to the pace of the rest of the crowd as Frederick became more comfortable. He noticed under the hem of her too-short dress that her shoes were similar to those of the ballet dancers that occasionally came through.

“Your shoes.” He asked as she twirled, pulling her back toward him with a gentle tug as she came closer. “Where did you get them?”

“They were a gift.” She replied, keeping herself at a respectful distance, not wishing to give any of the scornful faces in the crowd the opportunity to call her a harlot.

Frederick didn’t seem to notice the sharp gazes or her distancing, simply too entranced with her to care. There was something different about Odette. She wasn’t searching through the crowd for a prince, she wasn’t conniving for a crown. She just wanted to live. And he appreciated that. They danced and talked and listened and dreamed until half past two in the early morning. He bid her a hurried goodbye and she grabbed his hand ferociously before he was quite able to depart.

“Come see me again. Don’t make me wait. Tomorrow. Go to the edge of the woods and stand by the tree with the white trunk and the chimes. Don’t eat anything you find there and don’t take any trinkets if you see them. I’ll be there at sundown.”

He smiled gently, all warmth and kind gaze.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Odette.”

“I’ll be waiting, Frederick.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next night, Frederick arrived at the very place where the nature of the woodland met man’s cobblestone streets, seeing the white tree laden with chimes and sugar dishes and honey and trinkets. He approached it and heard a familiar voice call his name.

“Frederick,” Odette said gently.

“Odette,” he replied in equal softness, an undertone in his ambiance that sounded… loving.

She extended her hand to him and he slipped his strong, smooth fingers in against hers easily. Her own hand was smaller, with blisters on a few of her fingers easily clear where the paintbrush rested. He smiled at her as she led him through the woods, down paths he never would’ve known existed to a small cottage with a small hearth, in front of which sat Ronan Page, painting a portrait of his daughter.

“Hello Papa, I brought company,” Odette called as she opened the door and came inside, leading Frederick to follow after her.

“Good evening, sir.” Frederick said, his tone proper and respectful.

“Good evening, young man.” Ronan chuckled. “There’s no need to call me sir. My name is Ronan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ronan.” Frederick gave a shallow bow to the other man.

“Simply Ronan will suffice.” Mr. Page reiterated. “The pleasure is mine.”

Odette let Frederick sit down, then fetched bread for herself, her father, and their guest. She handed a damp rag to her father for him to clean his hands, then handed him a quarter of the loaf, keeping some for herself and some for Frederick. The boy looked down at the loaf and then up at Odette.

“Where is your meat?” He asked.

“We have none.” Odette replied. “We have bread. If it is not enough, I’m sure there must be some oats left-”

“No, Odette, it’s quite alright, just… Is bread all you eat?”

“Bread and pottage.” Odette replied slowly. “And whatever grows with the season. Why?”

“I will buy you chickens.” He declared. “There must be something more filling in your meals.”

“You are kind, Frederick, but you do not understand.” Odette admonished gently. “We do not consume the meat of flocks or herds. They are the children of the earth, just as we are. We thank them for their gifts of eggs or milk, but we do not consume the animals themselves.”

He furrowed his brow.

“Why?”

“We choose not to consume that which was once living in honor of the life the creature lived.”

Frederick looked at her again, confused, but nodded, taking a bite of bread.

“You are a strange woman, Odette.” He said, marveling at her.

“Perhaps.” She agreed. “You seem a strange man, Frederick. Is it not enough to be strange in the company of those fellows that breathe warmth into your soul?”

He smiled.

“I suppose it is.”

They conversed happily into the early hours of the morning before Frederick bid them goodbye with a promise to return soon. On his way home, he stopped at the tree on the edge of the wood, and removed a silver ring from his finger, leaving it there.


	5. Chapter 5

As many weeks passed, Frederick and Odette and her father grew to be a very tight knit sort of group. Odette and her father had always been close, but now their hearts had expanded to gladly embrace Frederick. One night, as Frederick left their home, he was spotted leaving the woods by the butcher, Rothbart, who was bringing his scraps out for his pigs. The butcher watched the young man for a moment, and just as he was about to turn to return inside his house, he saw the glimmer of the royal crest under Frederick’s brown cloak.

Now this angered Rothbart beyond all comparison, for Rothbart had a daughter named Odile who desperately wished to marry the prince, for what was a girl without a wealthy husband, and who was wealthier than the soon to be ruler of the kingdom? And so was the desire of the cold man’s heart, and so began his plot to put his daughter on the throne. 

He hurried home and told his daughter of all that he had seen, which tale filled Odile with jealousy. Rothbart encouraged her to dress in her finest clothes, adorned with many jewels, and hurry through the forest to the heart of the fae to strike a deal. Though a beautiful girl, Odile’s heart was black as coal, and when she arrived at the meeting place of the fae, she showed little to no respect to the fae court, who listened to her request with complete apathy.

“You wish to woo the prince?” The king clarified, his tone bordering on bored.

“Yes.” Odile nodded.

“Are you prepared to make the sacrifices to do so?”

“Anything to be queen,” the distasteful girl replied.

The fae ruler nodded. He didn’t like this girl, not after how much love he’d seen between Odette Page and the Prince. So he gave her a simple glamour and took from her every last piece of glimmering jewelry, and even the beads on her dress, then sent her on her way. Odile strode through the forest with a purposeful walk, the spell glossing over her straw like hair and muddy eyes, painting her into the perfect picture of Odette, who, while back home in her father’s cottage had shrunk into a perfect white swan.


	6. Chapter 6

As Odile made her way to the palace to seduce Prince Frederick, Rothbart stormed into the Page’s home and beat down poor Ronan until the man couldn’t walk, snatching poor swan stuck Odette by the neck and bringing her towards his butcher’s shop. But old Rothbart was not as wise as clever young Odette, who quickly bit his hand and with a great running start, began to fly towards the heart of the forest.

The young swan landed at the foot of the fae king’s throne. She begged him to return her to her natural state, praying against all odds that he would understand her request. The king, a fair and just man with the wisdom of many centuries, knew that while he could not break the deal he’d given Odile, he could still slip a mercy to Odette through a loophole in the contract.

He waved his hand and in a flurry of white feathers, she became her human self again. She thanked him profusely and promised him sugar and honey cakes, to which he smiled sadly.

“I wish I could help you more, child, but I struck a bargain with the wicked Odile, and I cannot break it. When the sun’s rays creep over the horizon, a swan again you will be. I can give you back your nights, but nothing more.”

Odette looked down at herself and nodded.

“Thank you, your majesty. I will find a way to repay you.”

The king looked at her for a moment in contemplation.

“I know not the future, my dear girl, but I know that the boy you’ve been courting is the Prince Aneas. If you were to wed him, I ask humbly that my people become a part of his people and his kingdom and mine can coexist peacefully.”

Odette, while in mild shock at the revelation, nodded.

“It will be done, your majesty.”

“Go now child, and hurry. Tarry not here and go forth to your lover and tell him all.”

Odette nodded and fled quickly from the tarrying spot, hurrying out of the forest, only pausing for the briefest of moments to remove her simple silver chain and drape it over one of the branches of the white tree, promising tribute in thanks for all the fae had done for her. She made her way towards the palace, but sunrise broke just as her feet graced the first step, and in a whirlwind of white feather down, she became a swan again.


	7. Chapter 7

Now, while Odette had fled to the fae for assistance, Odile had been striving to pull the wool over the eyes of Frederick, who had been revealed to all parties as the Prince Aneas. She followed him in much too close a stride with many failed attempts at pulling him close to her. Her bustier hugged her body in such a way that nothing Odette wore ever did, accentuating her in a manner that was meant to be enticing, but paired with Odile’s entitled and selfish behaviors, became provocative and altogether unattractive. Frederick, or rather, Aneas, sent Odile away, leaving off some ways into the royal gardens, followed at a respectful distance by a demure swan Odette.

Aneas saw the swan and furrowed his brows.

“You are one of Odette’s flock, aren’t you?” He mused, seeing the swan form of his lover.

_ I  _ **_am_ ** _ Odette! _ She wanted to say. But she couldn’t. So she merely made the small squeaking noise of a swan and waddled along behind him. She followed him through most of the day, and when night fell and he had completed his daily tasks, he ushered her along to take her home to her father. But Odette was and always had been a clever girl and when he turned to walk her home, she ran from him, into the garden, where she squeaked for his attention and mere seconds after he laid eyes on her, she became herself again as the last rays of sun slipped over the horizon.

“Odette?” He cried, astounded.

“Yes,” she replied, running to him and taking his hands in hers hurriedly. “I know now of your identity as the Prince Aneas, and I apologise for my forwardness, your highness, but I need your help. The butcher Rothbart and his wicked daughter Odile are plotting to take me away and marry her to you under a glamour that cloaks her in my image.”

“I will not have it.” Aneas declared firmly. “I love you and only you for all time, dear Odette.”

“I am flattered and honored by your words, and do not mistake my overt concern for my father as a disinterest in your declaration, but I beg of you, please let us not tarry here and instead hurry back to my home. The butcher beat my poor father terribly, and I fear how much time he’ll have left.”

“Of course,” Aneas nodded, taking her hand and hurrying along towards her home.


	8. Chapter 8

Scorned by the prince and bitter as cud, Odile laid in wait for Odette and Aneas, and with her father’s help, she quickly traded places with the other girl, following Aneas to the Page family home and entering into it alongside him, finding poor Ronan Page laying tiredly on the floor. Aneas released Odile’s hand and hurried to Ronan’s side, pulling the man into his arms.

“Mr. Ronan,” he said gently, “If there is but one request I make of you this night in the midst of your pain, I ask only for your permission to marry Odette. Please,” he looked back at Odile, sadly fooled by the disguise, and uttered the words that would strike his lover down to the earth. “I love this woman more than life itself, more than any spoken word could ever show. Please sir, I pray, let me marry her.”

Odile smiled, for she thought she had won, but the fae who lingered in the trees around the lake and the cottage had one last venture that might yet save the virtuous Odette and her father. With the power of Aneas’ declaration and the understanding that it was  _ meant _ for Odette, the glamour over Odile faltered. It did not revert her to her old self, but she no longer appeared as the fair Odette. Instead, she became a vile mixture of the two, hideous and distasteful to look upon, though she had no way of knowing her looks had changed. But Aneas saw her and recoiled.

“You are not Odette,” he said coldly, the realisation striking him. “What have you done?”

“I am Odette, you said yourself mere seconds ago that you love me, do you not?”

“I do not love you. You are the wicked Odile and I curse you and your disguise. My love is only for Odette, for she is not consumed with vanity and lust, and though she is beautiful, it is her spirit that brings me joy. My love for her is beyond anything you could comprehend, you vile creature. Be gone from this place, and should I ever see you in my kingdom again, I will throw you in prison for eighty years.”

Odile stood and fled in fright, never to be seen again. On the edge of the woods, her father was making her way out of the forest with a struggling Odette in his arms, when her hard toed shoe caught his shin and he released her, stumbling back into the white tree, laden with fae gifts. This angered the fae, and finally they were able to retribute for all that had been done to Odette and her father, and with a great cry of outrage, old Rothbart became nothing more than a filthy black pig, who ran away in fear.

Sweet Odette knelt and began to attempt to repair the fallen shrine, but away in her cottage, unbeknownst to the poor girl, her lover had unwittingly declared his devotion to Odile, causing Odette to fall still, her head pillowed on a tray of sugar and the honey on her fingertips dripping onto the ground.

It was Aneas who found her there, leading her father sat atop their old horse, kneeling beside her and letting a few small droplets escape his eyes, falling onto dear still Odette and running down the curve of her cheek the way dewdrops run across the petals of the roses in the early morning. He scooped her into his arms and brought her carried along towards the palace, taking her into his own chambers and laying her gently on his own plush bed, brushing the sparkling shards of sugar from her hair and taking his own cloak to wipe the honey from her hands.

“Oh darling Odette…” He whispered, “I’m so sorry.”


	9. Chapter 9

Many weeks passed and they said that Odette was near deathly, but Ronan and Aneas refused to believe. Weeks became months, and Ronan’s own condition did not improve. He told Aneas to go to the forest and repair the shrine where Odette was found, then to pray for the fae’s guidance.

It took him three days and nights to repair the shrine, and when the task was complete, he removed his royal ring and laid a golden heirloom necklace across one of the branches and prayed to the fae.

“Please.. I need your help. Odette lies still as if dying and I love her too much to let that be so.”

He kept his face low to the ground, his tones fervent and reverent as he prayed, and to him, the answer came.

“You must prove your devotion to Odette in an act of true love. Show the world you truly love her, and all will be set to rights.”

Aneas nodded and thanked the fae with all his heart, then hurried back to the palace to do as instructed. An act of true love… He sat beside Odette’s bed and pressed a kiss to her hand.

“I will bring your spirit and body together again, Odette. I will bring your soul alight.” He swore.

It was three days later when the first of his many acts of love would commence. He had begun a regime of renovations to the kingdom, known as the Swan Decrees. Laws that Odette had told him long ago, on their late nights together curled in front of the hearth in her small family home, would make the kingdom better for all.

This was the first.

Unpaid servitude and slavery were completely abolished.

Then came education for all.

A celebration of the arts and recognition of profession for painters and sculptors and other artists.

With each passing day and every new law, color returned to Odette, just as joy came to the kingdom. And finally, after many weeks of work, the most important of all; recognition of the fae as protected citizens of the kingdom.

It was that day that the breath of life stirred again in Odette Page, and she rose from her bed, running through the castle until she saw him, saw him on the balcony, announcing the newest decree to the people, and she ran to him, throwing herself into his arms and pressing her lips firmly against his. It was this day that the kingdom became whole again, and it became the Holiday of the Swan for every year to come.

And forevermore, in the kingdom of Farean, the descendants of Odette Page and Aneas Frederick ruled side by side with the fae of the forest, and the tale of the swans was told for the rest of time.


End file.
